Those Who Remain
by Alaia Skyhawk
Summary: What do you do when you understand destiny is broken? What Merlin did was walk away, but we don't all have that luxury. What do you do when you are part of those who remain? Companion fic of Let My People Go
1. A Kingdom in Mourning

**Alaia Skyhawk: Well guys, here it is. The start of Those Who Remain, the companion fic to Let My People Go. As with that one, I'm beta'ing this and posting it on behalf of my friend Julie. So from her I say "I hope you all enjoy this one as much as you've been enjoying LMPG" :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, and this story belongs to my friend Julie, who I'm posting it on behalf of.**

Summary : What do you do when you understand destiny is broken? What Merlin did was walk away, but we don't all have that luxury. What do you do when you are part of those who remain?

Author's note : This is a companion fic to "Let My People Go", though you don't need to read LMPG to understand this. It starts with Arthur killing his father, and will end at Merlin's coming back.

PROLOGUE: A KINGDOM IN MOURNING

Arthur regretted his gesture as soon as it was over, and hurriedly drew his sword back from his father's body, hoping against all reason that taking back the sword would take back his murder. His blind rage fading with the King's life, he wished it could be as it was in his childhood, when his 'dead' playmates got up again once their games were over.

The sound of doors bursting open brought him back to reality, though, and when he looked across the room to meet Merlin's horrified eyes, he knew this was neither a game nor a dream, and there was no going back now.

His gaze went from his servant to Sir Leon and Sir Galahad, who were wearing equally horrified expressions, and to whom he said firmly, "My father was killed by someone who supported magic and managed to slip unnoticed in the Council Room. When I got here, it was too late and I could only avenge the King's death. Understood?"

The Knights caught the barely veiled threat in his voice, and though a part of them wanted to rise against covering for such a crime, what could they do? Galahad had recently taken a wife, and Leon's first-born was about to reach his second birthday... They had to think of their families.

"Yes, Sire," they answered in unison.

"Merlin?"

The manservant didn't answer, unable as he was to avert his eyes from the red pool formed by the blood dripping off Arthur's sword. This had to be a nightmare, he kept repeating himself, as drop after drop fell on the floor. Surely his destiny didn't imply that Arthur had to become King with a patricide. The Prince called his name again, but Merlin didn't even hear him. Surely there was a way to undo this... It couldn't be real... He was going to wake up in his bed at any moment now...

"MERLIN!"

The third time was the charm; this time he looked up at Arthur. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to lie so no one would find out what had happened. But even if he told the truth, what good would it do? Who would believe him? Gaius would, and Gwen as well; but it wouldn't be enough. And he didn't want to break his best friend's heart.

"Yes, Sire," he said reluctantly. "If I may go now... I think Gaius would like to learn this in private, to mourn his friend before he has to mourn his king."

"Of course," Arthur said. He knew his father's friendship with Gaius had started when they were as young as himself and Merlin were now. Of course the old Court Physician would need time.

Merlin was careful to keep a sedate pace even after he left the room. As soon as he had turned the corner of the hallway, though, he started running – not to Gaius' chambers, as he had said; he would go there, but first there was someone he had to see.

He needed to talk to the Dragon.

By the time he reached the den, Merlin was breathless. The Dragon didn't take long to come down.

"It is not often that you come here in such a hurry, young warlock. What happened that is so urgent you could not take time to breathe?"

Trying to get some air back in his lungs, the young man answered.

"Arthur... killed... Uther..." He looked intently at the Dragon, waiting for his reaction. He was disappointed, though; the only reaction he got was a blink of the eyes. "Was this supposed to happen? Must Arthur's kingdom be built upon the blood of his father?"

"Calm down, Merlin," the creature told him.

"Did you know all along this would happen? Did you know Uther would die from by son's hand?"

"While Arthur's destination is set, the path to reach it is made up of many steps. No one can know them all, and so no one can say if or not this is a part of that path. You need only stay by him and protect him as you already have, and trust that he will come through this."

Merlin sighed; once again the dragon spoke in riddles.

"I'm not asking for a charade, I want to know if I've always been destined to help Arthur become King through murder!"

"I said all I had to said," the dragon replied coldly before taking wing, leaving the warlock alone.

"Why I thought I'd get some answers with you, I really don't know," he muttered dejectedly.

A few minutes later, he was pushing the door of his mentor's chambers, still unsure of how he would tell him the news. Gaius had his back turned on him, working at the potion he always gave the King, and didn't hear him come in. Merlin cleared his throat to get his attention. The old Physician turned around in surprise.

"Merlin? I didn't expect you in here before tonight... Is there a problem with Arthur?"

_You could say that_, the warlock thought miserably.

"Gaius..." he started, unsure of what to say. "I think you should sit down."

"Merlin, what happened?" the old man asked, ignoring his advice.

The young warlock swallowed once, before dropping the news.

"Arthur has killed his father."

Gaius' legs gave way, and he would have fallen if Merlin hadn't quickly moved a chair for him to sit upon.

"How did this happen?" he asked with a shocked voice.

"I'm not sure. I only know he was furious after his father, blaming him for his mother's death. By the time I convinced Sir Leon to open the doors of the Council Room, it was too late – Arthur had run Uther through with his sword," Merlin related. "He made it clear to the three of us that if we told anyone about this, there would be dire consequences. The official version is a sympathizer of magic managed to slip in the room unnoticed and stabbed Uther before Arthur got there. Then Arthur killed that intruder."

Gaius had never looked his age more than he did now, upon learning the death of his best friend. Merlin sympathized; he could only imagine how he would feel if, decades from now, he learned Arthur had been killed – be it by his son or someone else.

"Will you be alright?" he asked a little worriedly. Gaius looked up at him.

"I'll have to be, won't I? Arthur will need our advice in the coming weeks."

~(-)~

It took a few days for all the neighbouring lords and kings to come and attend Uther's funeral. Lord Godwin was the first to arrive; he offered his condolences to Arthur as soon as he got down from his horse.

"Your father was a great king," he assured the Prince, "and a good friend. This is a terrible loss for all of us."

"Yes," Arthur nodded, the poisoned thorn of his guilt sinking more and more in his heart with each word. "He was all of that and more. I can only hope I will be as good as he was."

_Oh, you will_, Merlin, who was watching the scene, thought. _You will be even better if I have my way._ He kept silent, though; it was not the place of a mere servant to talk such things, least of all in public.

"Merlin!" Arthur called, and the servant came to his side. "Lord Godwin, this is my personal servant, Merlin; if you need anything, just ask him, he'll be glad to help you."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Lord Godwyn answered with a nod, "and my condolences again."

The next ones were Olaf and Alined, both of them arriving at the same time, and each of them trying to outdo the other one with his condolences. Uther's funeral and the related mourning period lasted a week, during which every nobleman with a daughter old enough to be married tried to tell him of their qualities and how they would make a perfect Queen for Camelot. Choosing a Queen soon was the last thing on his mind, though; on the last day of Uther's funeral, Arthur received an alarming report from the borders with Cenred's kingdom.

As soon as the coronation ceremony was over, the young King invited every nobleman who had some military forces into the Council Room, where he laid maps on the table.

"Gentlemen, I just got disturbing news from our eastern borders; King Cenred, it seems, does not have the decency to wait until Camelot has mourned its King before attacking us. He is massing forces along the borders, and some of them are already raiding the outer villages to test us."

"King Cenred does not know what 'decency' means," Olaf grumbled. "I've always told your father he should get rid of him, but he wouldn't listen."

"Stubborn as a mule, he was," King Bayard approved, while Godwin raised a hand to calm them.

"Let us not speak ill of the dead, my lords. It is popular knowledge that doing so is unwise."

"Forgive me, Sire," Alined interrupted with a falsely respectful tone, "but what does this have to do with us? Is Camelot so weak it cannot defend itself?"

Arthur looked at him blandly.

"I will tell you what it has do you with you, King Alined. Cenred is thirsty for power – he doesn't only want Camelot, he wishes to rule all of Britain. If he gets Camelot, he will not be stopping there. From here, he can attack any one of you."

He pointed at Alined's kingdom on the map.

"Your lands are only a few days horseride from here, Sire. And at this very moment, they are unprotected – as is every kingdom, since we are all gathered here for my father's funerals. He could attack any one of us, at any moment – although it is very likely Camelot will be his first target.

My soldiers are more than able to defend our lands – but if Cenred isn't disposed of, then it will only be a matter of time before he strikes again. Who's to say Carmelide won't be his next target? Or Caledonia, or Cornwall?"

He looked from one King to the other as he named their kingdom. Godwin was the first to react, taking his sword in both hands and raising it towards Arthur.

"My King. My sword is yours, as well as my forces, however small they may be."

"Cornwall will join with you on this battle," Olaf declared. "Cenred must be gotten rid of once and for all."

One by one, every man in the room declared either their allegiance or alliance with the young King. Smiling, Arthur declared, "Let's show that poor excuse for a King, what real Kings can do."

~(-)~

**Alaia Skyhawk: There we go guys, chapter one. Unlike "Let My People Go", I can't read ahead in the story because it's being sent to me 1 chapter at a time for beta/posting. So every time there's a cliffhanger, I'll be left on the edge of my seat just like the rest of you XD**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	2. A Couple of Revelations

**Alaia Skyhawk: Just a reminder, I'm posting this fic on behalf of my friend Julie :)**

**Julie Winchester: I hope you didn't have high expectations concerning the battle, because I have no idea how to write such a scene; so after torturing myself with it for a while, I decided to just skip it. Sorry for those who wanted it...**

**Also, sorry for the long time it took me to write this; real life kept getting in the way...**

Chapter 1: A couple of revelations

The battle against Cenred's forces was a success, of course; with all the other Kings allied against him, it was ten to one – something Cenred's soldiers were very quick to realise, especially the mercenaries he'd hired to make his army seem bigger and more threatening. As they blatantly informed him, they fought for money – they didn't die for it. Money was pretty useless if you were dead.

So, when the day of the battle came, half of Escetia's forces had deserted and the other half were scared to death. In order to give them some courage, Cenred had decided to ride to battle among them instead of watching from afar as he usually did.

This was the typical example of the falsely good idea.

Indeed, it did not take long for the young King Arthur to find him in the middle of his men. Cenred smirked, certain his opponent was too young and too soft to kill a man in cold blood.

"Well, what are you going to do, _boy?"_

"I think the question is, what are _you_ going to do," Arthur pointed calmly. "Half your army is gone – they joined us, by the way; we pay them better, and there's less chance of defeat on our side. The other half is dead or dying... You think you can take Camelot by yourself?"

"I can, if I kill you," Cenred replied wickedly. "You have taken no Queen, you have no heir... If I kill you, I can take Camelot without any help."

"You have no chance of killing me," Arthur countered.

"Let's see about that, shall we?"

Without dismounting from their horses, both men drew their swords and started to fight. When he felt himself starting to tire, Cenred cursed inwardly – his adversary was harder to defeat than he had thought. Hoping to distract him, he said:

"You know, I've been in Camelot once, long ago; so when I received the news of how your father met his end, I had a hard time believing anyone could slip unnoticed in the Throne Room. Then I figured it out." He smiled with an evil smile. "You just couldn't wait anymore, did you? You wanted power for yourself, instead of always being second in command..."

"No," Arthur denied with a shake of his head. "No, you're wrong."

Then he let out a cry of pain: Cenred had seen an overture in his stance and wounded his leg. The Escetian King pushed his luck.

"How did it feel, Arthur? Was it good? I'll bet you enjoyed it, stabbing him and watching as life left him..."

"No," the young man repeated. "No, it's not true. I didn't-"

"Of course you did," Cenred sneered. "Admit it, boy; you and I are exactly the same..."

"No!" Arthur screamed, rushing his horse towards his adversary's. Then it all happened very quickly. Cenred made a bad fall, breaking his leg, and was unable to get back up. Arthur would never know if he had unconsciously kicked his mount to make it advance, or if it had been spooked by something; whatever the cause, the young King's horse walked over the man, reducing his head to a mush of flesh, blood and hair.

Arthur felt as though he was going to be sick as his soldiers acclaimed his victory over the enemy. Lord Godwyn approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You had no choice," he said comfortingly. "Cenred would never have stopped trying to take our lands. You did what you had to do."

Meanwhile, in the castle, Merlin was worried sick about Arthur. The King hadn't brought his servant with him this time, saying his squire would be more than able to take care of him. The warlock had tried to get more information from Kilgharrah, but the Dragon had remained as cryptic as usual. There was no way of saying how his father's death would affect Arthur. He was worried about something else, though. After talking about it with Gaius, Merlin had decided to reveal Arthur he had magic. The longer he waited, the more likely it was that the new King would follow in his father's steps, and the magical community couldn't afford that. The warlock had then resolved to tell him everything once he came back from the war.

Little did he know, Morgana had the same intention. While she had been too afraid of Uther's hatred towards magic to speak to her guardian, she felt it was safer confessing it to Arthur – surely he would realise she was in no way evil. They'd grown up together, from the day she'd arrived in Camelot, a little girl mourning her dead father and the home she would never see again. She had been five at the time, and he had been six, but from the very first day he'd taken up the role of an older brother, protecting her yet bickering with her at every occasion. There was no way he would have her executed because of her magic – unless she waited too long and let his mind be poisoned by Uther's advisors.

With their king dead, the soldiers of Escetia had no wish to keep fighting, knowing it would only be a matter of time before the combined armies of Arthur and his allies defeated them all. The mercenaries Cenred had hired were long gone, half of Escetia's proper forces were dead already; it didn't take long for the remaining half to pledge their allegiance to Arthur – making Escetia a part of Camelot's lands, a fact that no other King begrudged. Arthur had killed Cenred, hence it was normal that he be the one to take over the dead man's lands.

Half of Arthur's soldiers were sent to Cenred's castle with the Escetian army, their mission being to ensure there would be no riots, and to summarize the resources available in the country. Meanwhile, half of Escetian remaining forces were to go to Camelot with him, in order to compensate for those who'd left.

So it was an Arthur who was unaware of the revelations expecting him, who set foot in his city after being gone for an entire week. From the corner of his eye, he saw Guinevere walking towards him, but he pretended not to; he'd had time to think while he was on the road, and he had come to the conclusion that he and Gwen could never be. There was no way for a King to marry a serving girl. Which reminded him he had to go and see her later; she deserved to hear it directly from him; he owed her that much.

Morgana and Merlin, though, were now walking down the front steps of the castle – the latter careful to remain respectfully behind the former, as befitted a servant and a Lady. The dark-haired woman was the first to greet her foster brother, while the warlock took his horse back to the stables.

"Morgana," he said with a smile. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to have you back, My Lord," she replied with a bow of her head, but a malicious smile on her face indicating she was only teasing. He laughed whole-heartedly; yes, he was home.

Morgana, however, became serious as she asked, "May I talk to you, My Lord? In private?"

Arthur frowned; when Morgana talked seriously, it was never a good sign.

"Of course; in my apartments?"

She nodded, her throat constricted with apprehension, and followed him inside while Merlin, who'd come back from the stables, watched them go. Apparently Morgana had had the same idea as him, and if that was the case, she would probably prefer to tell Arthur alone. After she did, though, she might need some support. This idea in mind, he followed them from a distance.

Arthur closed the door behind Morgana, looking expectantly at his father's ward – who was probably _his_ ward now, he realised, now that his father... The image of Uther covered in blood passed before his eyes, and he shook his head to get rid of it – wishing it was as simple to get rid of the guilt.

"Well?" he prompted gently when she just stood there, nervous but silent. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Taking a deep breath, the young woman looked into his eyes and said, "Arthur, I have magic."

A whirlwind of feelings showed in Arthur's eyes; confusion, disbelief, love, guilt... anything but hatred, much to her relief. After a silence, the young King blinked and sat down, motioning for Morgana to do the same.

"Sit. You can't just drop something like this without an explanation. What exactly do you mean with, 'I have magic'?"

"Exactly what I said," she answered, taking the chair he offered. "I was born with it, but I didn't know it for a while. My nightmares... well, they're visions, really. Visions of the future. I also have other powers, but I don't know how to control them yet. When Uther thought I was taken by the Druids... Well, I had actually gone to them myself; I thought they could help me with my magic, tell me more about what it was and how to control it..."

"... and I killed them," Arthur realised. "I'm so sorry, Morgana."

"You couldn't know," she replied kindly. "I never said anything to him because I was so afraid... But I thought maybe if I told you, you would try to understand; maybe you wouldn't hate me for this..."

"Of course I don't..."

Before Arthur could finish his sentence, though, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," the King said impatiently.

The door opened to reveal Merlin standing there, looking more nervous than he had ever been.

"Merlin, we are in a middle of an important discussion here..." he began, but Morgana interrupted.

"It's okay, Arthur; he knows about me. He's the one who advised me to go to the Druids in the first place." With a smile, she added, "Come in, Merlin."

The warlock closed the door behind him, but remained where he was.

"My King, My Lady, I have something to tell you both. I hope you will forgive me for not telling you sooner..."

"What are you talking about Merlin?" Arthur asked irritably.

"I think it's better if I show you," the young man answered, avoiding his gaze. "_Forbearne..._"

A small flame appeared in his extended palm, eliciting gasps from both spectators.

"_You_ have magic as well?" the blonde asked incredulously. "Am I surrounded by sorcerers in secret? Who's going to come in and tell me they have magic next, Guinevere?"

"Why didn't you say anything, Merlin?" Morgana asked softly. "Even when you knew about me?"

"I'm terribly sorry, Lady Morgana... I just, thought the fewer people who knew, the safer it was for me."

"Wonderful," the Kind said with sarcasm. "I'll just have to repel the law against magic, then. I can't have my two best friends executed, but I can't exactly make an exception, can I?"

"There's much more you need to know, Arthur," Merlin said, deadly serious. "I have a lot of things to tell you..."

He stood there and started telling them both everything that had happened since the day he'd first arrived in Camelot. He concealed nothing, not even the part about Arthur being born of magic or the prophecy that Mordred would be the one to kill him. This last information made Morgana cry; she loved the little Druid but she couldn't deny a prophecy told by a Dragon... The warlock even mentioned Freya, earning an apology from Arthur and a glance of sympathy from the dark-haired sorceress. It took more than two hours to tell him – them – everything, yet not once did Merlin show any sign of fatigue; and once it was done, the King was more than ready to repel the law against magic.

He told him as much, before adding, "I also want you to pass a message to the magical community around here – what's left of it, at least. I am willing to make peace with them, on the condition that they don't attack the kingdom anymore. I want them all to come and swear to me never to turn against us."

"What if they choose to stay away?" Morgana asked.

"As soon as they've sworn, they are free to go where they want. But those who won't swear will be considered enemies of Camelot – and treated as such."

Merlin nodded; he understood. Magic users should be treated the same way mundane people were; friends and foes alike.

"I'll start spreading the word tomorrow," he promised him, before leaving to inform Gaius of the latest events.

**There we are, people; next chapter, you will have the reactions of the groups of sorcerers around the country at Arthur's ultimatum, as well as the reveal of Merlin's magic to Gwen.**

**You want an easy way to get reviews? Leave a review on my story, and I'll go and review one of yours – you can even choose which one if you want. If you don't have an account, or if you don't write stories, just leave me a prompt and I'll write an OS about it. There's no guarantee what the delay might be, though – real life can get in the way, I'm sure you all see what I mean – but I _will_ write it at some point.**


	3. Emissary

**Once again, sorry for the long wait people... Always the same reason: SCHOOL. (And translating Alaia's work, but shhhhh)**

**Some of you were surprised at Arthur's easy acceptance, and at the revelations, so here's the explanation: Both Merlin and Morgana see in Arthur the hope that Uther's reign of terror over magic might be over, so they want to act quickly before he has the chance to follow in his father's footsteps.**

**As for Arthur himself, keep in mind this is an alternative ending for 2.09; in my opinion it's when he is most open towards magic. Earlier on the episode, he mentioned he was starting to doubt his father's beliefs, and now he knows why exactly Uther turned against magic. This was one of the most suitable moments for him to learn about M & M: on top of what I've already mentioned, learning his foster sister (as far as he knows) and his best friend have magic will only reinforce his belief that all magic isn't evil.**

**On another note, I feel the need to clear something up. This will NOT take a different path from Let My People Go. This is not an alternative ending. This is a companion fic: it details what was mentioned in the prologue, and after that it will focus on what happened in Camelot _while_ Merlin was in Frithstow. Is that clear for everyone now?**

**Good, then we can get to...**

**Chapter 2: Emissary**

Merlin spent the night packing for his journey; he wanted to see as many groups as possible in person before the word started to spread on its own, so it was likely that he would be gone for a few days, if not a few weeks. He left at dawn, after making his goodbyes to Gaius and asking him to warn Arthur he'd be gone for quite some time. His horse was ready, waiting for him in the stables; in a few minutes, the warlock had disappeared from sight.

It took him half a day's ride to reach the closest group, a community of Druids. Careful not to frighten them, he made sure to drop his weapon and dismount his horse before sending them a mental message. _I __a__m __Emrys; I come in peace as __an emissary from King Arthur, to deliver a message._ He then waited in plain sight for the group to allow him to come closer. Druids were a peaceful people, so they wouldn't attack him; but scaring them away wouldn't exactly serve his purpose.

After an animated debate to know if he was telling the truth or not, the clan leader came to him. Once he was close enough to identify him, the man smiled, "Welcome, Emrys. For a long time, we have hope for the coming of the Once and Future King."

"Well, he has recently been crowned," Merlin replied, "after his father was murdered in revenge for the victims of the Purge."

He had decided the night before that he would stick to the official version of the events. He knew for many of his people, Arthur was the only hope left for magic to come back, and the warlock didn't want to shatter those hopes by revealing the King was not a hero, but a mere kinslayer. After all, maybe murdering Uther had been a necessary evil – but that didn't mean Merlin had to like it.

The young man was led towards the rest of the group, to explain what had happened and what Arthur's message was. There didn't seem to be too many people, he noticed; maybe twenty at the most, all ages and genders included. Everyone sat in a half-circle before him, eager to have news of Camelot. They wouldn't be satisfied with only the message, Merlin could tell; he would have to tell them more. Sitting down as well, he cleared his throat before starting.

"A few weeks ago, a sympathizer of magic was able to sneak into the castle; he hid in the Council Room until late King Uther was alone there. Then, he took out a knife," at this point, Emrys mimicked pulling out a blade, "and stabbed him viciously in the back!"

The audience gasped as he suddenly leaned forwards in a mock attack, "The attacker would have fled, but as he was about to leave the room, Crown Prince Arthur Pendragon came in and was face-to-face with the man. When he saw the knife, still dripping with blood, and his father's corpse lying on the ground, it didn't take long for him to understand what exactly had transpired. Seeing himself caught, the assassin tried to turn his blade against the Prince. But he wasn't born yet the man who will be able to defeat Arthur," he assured them. "He killed the intruder, thus avenging his father's death."

He felt sick at the awe on these people's faces; an awe he knew was based on a gigantic lie. Not letting his thoughts transpire, however, he went on with the tale – true, this time – of how both himself and the Lady Morgana had revealed their magic to the young King.

"He is now entirely open to repelling the ban on magic," Merlin concluded, "but he has to protect his people, magical and mundane alike. So he demands that every sorcerer in the kingdom comes to Camelot to swear not to turn against him. Those who do so will be left free to live their lives as they please; the others..."

He left the threat hanging in the air, allowing everyone to complete it as they would. After a while, he stood up and explained, "I must spread the word as far as I can. Please do the same to any sorcerer or group of sorcerers you come across: the dawn of the Once and Future King, is finally upon us!"

Mounting his horse, he sent him into a gallop before they had time to see the tears burning his eyes. No; he couldn't bring himself to believe that for Albion's age to come, Arthur had to kill his own father. Something had gone wrong in his destiny, and he couldn't help but feel they would all suffer the consequences. These people had placed their faith in him, as well as Arthur, yet he had just lied to their face. Never before had he felt so sick.

He was gone for ten whole days, but didn't meet more than four or five groups of sorcerers, and as many isolated individuals during this length of time. Each time he told the tale that presented Arthur as a hero, the lies came more easily on his tongue; it got easier to believe, for a few brief moments, that it was the truth.

It didn't make him feel any better afterwards.

When he came back to Camelot, at the end of those ten days, he decided not to go back straight to the castle, choosing instead to pay a visit to his best friend. Merlin knew it wouldn't be long before the word spread out about his and Morgana's magic, and he wanted to be the one to tell her... Well, that, and he wanted to see her face when she learned about it, he admitted internally.

Grinning, Merlin knocked at his friend's door, chuckling in anticipation. Gwen was one of the most trusting persons he knew; it didn't occur to him, even for a moment, that she might turn against him. He hadn't wanted to put her into that position before, hadn't wanted her to hide things from Arthur, but it didn't matter anymore now.

He had not expected, though, a Gwen in tears to open the door. His grin faded immediately, replaced by concern, as he stepped inside and closed the wood panel behind him. "Gwen? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied quickly, trying to wipe her tears.

"It's not nothing if it's making you cry so much," Merlin pointed out. "What happened?" He narrowed his eyes as a suspicion came into his mind. "Is it Arthur?"

The sobs came back, harder than ever. Sighing, the warlock gathered his friend in his arms, letting her soak his shirt as she explained. _I go away for ten days and when I come back, here's what I find_.

"He came to see me last night..." Gwen said quietly. "He told me... that his father's advisors would never let him take a commoner as his wife and Queen... He, he's going to ask Morgana but he wanted to clear things up with me before..."

"I'm sorry, Gwen... I'm so sorry..." he soothed her, stroking her hair as she sobbed.

"I knew we could never be... I've always known... It was a dream... A beautiful, impossible dream..."

Merlin didn't say anything, because he knew nothing he could say would make it alright. A dream it may have been, but it didn't make it hurt any less. He'd discovered as much very recently, with... He didn't let his thoughts stray down that path. His friend needed him now. After a while, though, she let go of him and regained her composure.

"Thank you. I needed that. Now, where have you been all this time?" she asked, pretending everything was fine again. He didn't buy that for a second, but he let the matter drop when he saw the pleading look in her eyes – she needed a distraction, not to wallow in her grief.

"Well, that's actually why I came to see you... I have to tell you something, Gwen."

"Really?" She sounded intrigued – good. "And what is so important, that you had to disappear for days before telling me?"

It was now or never, he figured. Taking a deep breath, Merlin stated, "Gwen... I have magic."

There was a silence, so deep it was almost deafening, then...

**TBC**

**Don't kill me! Don't hate me! I swear next chapter will be online SOON!**

**On another note, it seems this story has a mind of its own. I had planned to have Arthur break up with Gwen in another chapter, but this scene started to write itself...**

**Next chapter, you'll have Gwen's reaction, followed by Merlin and Arthur talking about his motives for marrying Morgana.**


End file.
